Air travel is a common mode of transportation. One of the major challenges associated with air travel relates to managing the large amount of baggage that accompanies the passengers aboard an aircraft. Typically, each passenger checks at least one piece of baggage before boarding the aircraft. The baggage is tagged and placed on carts that are wheeled out of the airport terminal building and up to the waiting aircraft. The baggage is then loaded into one of the lower cargo compartments of the aircraft, and travels with the passenger to their destination.
In the case of larger, wide-body aircraft, typically the cargo compartments are sufficiently roomy to accommodate luggage containers, which are packed full of luggage prior to being wheeled out of the airport terminal building. The luggage containers are lifted into the cargo compartment by mechanical means, and are maneuvered into position along roller beds that are permanently mounted inside the aircraft cargo compartment. Advantageously, the cargo containers may be packed in advance and lifted into the cargo compartment as soon as the baggage from a previous flight is unloaded. Furthermore, the use of mechanical lifting means and roller beds reduces the risk of injuries to baggage handlers, since manual lifting is kept to a minimum or is eliminated entirely.
However, current market forces have resulted in a shift toward using smaller, narrow-body aircraft, especially on domestic routes. Due to the smaller overall dimensions of the aircraft, the lower cargo compartments of a narrow-body aircraft tend to be quite cramped, often requiring the baggage handler to crawl around the compartment, and to sit or kneel while manipulating baggage, etc. For instance, the forward cargo compartment of a Boeing 757-200 is only 1.12 meters (44 inches) at its highest point, with a flat-floor surface of only 1.26 meters (49.8 inches) across.
A prior art method for loading and unloading baggage of a narrow-body aircraft uses a specialized mobile vehicle, which is known in the industry as a belt loader, that is equipped with a conveyor ramp, the inclination of which is adjustable for accommodating cargo compartment doorways at different heights above the ground. The belt loader is positioned such that one end of the conveyor ramp is adjacent to the cargo compartment doorway. During unloading, baggage handlers inside the cargo compartment lift the baggage onto the conveyor belt, which transports the baggage to a wheeled cart that is waiting below. To load baggage into the cargo compartment, the baggage is moved from a wheeled cart onto the conveyor ramp, carried up the ramp to the cargo compartment doorway, lifted off the ramp by a baggage handler, slid along the floor of the cargo compartment by one or more additional baggage handlers, and-lifted-onto a pile of baggage near the aft portion of the hold. Unfortunately, multiple baggage handlers within the cargo compartment adds to the congestion within the small space, increases the chances of an injury occurring, and increases the operating cost of each flight. Furthermore, turn-around times of narrow-body aircraft on a busy domestic route can be quite short, such as for instance 15 to 20 minutes. The need to load and unload baggage quickly, in combination with cramped working quarters and awkward lifting positions, creates prime conditions for serious back injuries to the baggage handlers.
Telair International provides a baggage handling system for narrow-body aircraft. The Sliding Carpet Loading System is a permanently installed system that uses a poly-coated Kevlar® conveyor belt to move baggage within the compartment. A single worker, stationed at the cargo compartment door area, loads baggage onto the conveyor and then activates the system. The conveyor automatically transports the load into the hold, thereby creating space for more baggage near the opening. During unloading, the system advances baggage towards the cargo compartment door area where it can easily be accessed. Unfortunately, the additional weight of the permanently installed system requires the use of additional fuel for every flight. In a market environment that sees airlines adding fuel surcharges to ticket prices, in order to pass along to their passengers the increasing cost of jet fuel, it is desirable to reduce fuel consumption rather than increase it by adding weight unnecessarily to the aircraft.
Fenner et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,043 discloses a modular cargo loading and unloading system for use with standard size aircraft, such as a Boeing 727 or 757. The system includes a doorway transfer unit and a plurality of longitudinal units. Each longitudinal unit includes a pair of parallel conveyor belts, and is sized to fit the width of the cargo compartment. The modular conveyor units are tied down using a quick-change mechanism that allows the units to be quickly installed and removed, so as to allow an aircraft to be readily converted from one configuration to another configuration. However, the conveyor system is designed specifically for conveying a small number of relatively large cargo containers, which are pre-loaded with cargo or baggage items. In particular, the cargo containers are too large to be “manhandled.” During use, the conveyor system transports the cargo containers into the cargo compartment, and the modules are sequentially deenergized as they become filled with cargo. In other words, the modules remain in the aircraft cargo compartment after the cargo compartment is loaded, with the cargo containers resting on top of the modules. Furthermore, the complex operation of the doorway transfer unit, which involves deenergizing a set of lateral conveyor belts and rollers, raising a set of longitudinal conveyor belts and rollers, and energizing the set of longitudinal conveyor belts and rollers, is not well suited for handling a large number of closely spaced baggage items for bulk loading the cargo compartment. Accordingly, the modular conveyor system of Fenner et al. is not easily adapted for use with traditional bulk loading practices that are normally employed with standard size aircraft, but requires specialized cargo containers and belt loaders that are capable of conveying such containers.
Another prior art system, referred to as the RampSnake®, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,200. By use of individual powered rollers the RampSnake® is extended and retracted at a 90-degree angle inside the aircraft. Baggage, cargo and mail are positively conveyed, and front and rear lifters take away the need to lift baggage, cargo and mail. Advantageously, the RampSnake® is completely removed from the cargo compartment after loading/unloading is complete, with the individual powered rollers being stored inside a specially designed vehicle. Unfortunately, the system is very complicated and existing belt loaders cannot be retrofitted for use with the RampSnake®.
It would be advantageous to provide a baggage handling system that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned limitations of the prior art.